


Slip Away

by theauthor2010



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: Angst, M/M, Non Canon Character Death, Pack Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-06
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-07 15:25:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theauthor2010/pseuds/theauthor2010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac sees that Danny is slipping away after Jackson's "death."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Danny was slipping away. Everyone saw the goalie shut down in the wake of Jackson’s “death”. He stopped talking and stopped socializing. He existed at a bare minimum. His straight A’s plummeted and his position on the lacrosse team was threatened. The worst thing of all was that none of that seemed to matter to Danny; Danny didn’t seem to care about any of it. Nobody was able to help Danny and it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Scott confronted him gently. He sat him down and tried to make him talk about his feelings. Danny just ignored him. Scott even tried to get Jackson to come back. Shortly after his transformation from Kanima to werewolf, Jackson had split town tearfully, explaining that he needed to start over. It failed. They couldn’t find Jackson.

Lydia was a bit rougher. She pulled Danny aside and told him that he had too much to lose. She berated him for throwing his life away and told him that Jackson wouldn’t want that. In her defense, she did get some emotion out of him. Immediately after her confrontation of Danny he started crying. He, however, just walked away after that.

Isaac had no spectacular connection to Danny. They played on the lacrosse team together, but belonged to different social groups. In high school, that meant they belonged in different worlds. He did, however, find a connection to the deep sorrow Danny felt. Isaac knew what it was like to feel pain so deeply, so profoundly, that you could no longer breathe. He wanted to tell Danny about Jackson, so much, but part of him felt that wasn’t all of Danny’s sorrow. Something seemed deeper. Isaac investigated.

He followed Danny home one night, where he listened out the open window. Danny was on the phone with someone.

“Is she any better?” he asked, desperation filling his voice. 

Isaac could almost make out the response on the phone. It was negative. “Thanks,” Danny muttered. “Tell her I love her and that I’m coming tomorrow.” 

Isaac was curious. The next day, after school, he tracked Danny to the hospital. As he arrived, he greeted Scott’s mother and then went upstairs as inconspicuously as a kid once suspected of murder could manage. He followed Danny to a room and then lingered in the hall, listening with his werewolf hearing.

He only peeked inside for a minute. In the room was a sickly older woman. She looked like she was dying. Isaac backed away and he could smell that she was dying. He heard the sound of Danny kissing her, probably on the cheek or forehead. 

“Hi Gran,” he said softly.

He listened and heard her eyes open. She let out a groan that would be inaudible to most. “Danny,” she said. “Child, I missed you.”

Danny’s voice sounded lighter but still filled with pain. “I missed you too Gran,” he said. It was a sweet, but painful thing to hear. Isaac sniffed. He could not get the sweet scent of death out of his senses now. She was dying. Sadness filled his heart. 

He left, intruding no longer. He went back to the pack house. He looked at Lydia, who was sitting on the couch reading. She had been a good friend of Danny’s once.

“Lydia?” he asked.

She looked up at him and smiled awkwardly. Their relationship had always been pained with discomfort. He had always felt that old resentment, coupled with new power. He didn’t like it. “Do you need something?” she asked.

“I wanted to ask you about Danny,” he said simply. “Do you know anything about his grandmother?”

Lydia nodded. Isaac could see that she had a deep knowledge, an understanding. He wanted to share it. She gave it to him willingly. “She practically raised him these last couple of years. His parents are flighty, never around and mostly idiotic. His Gran was he first person he came out to and his truest family.”

Isaac’s heart dropped with the heavy burden of the pain on it. “Oh…” he said with a desperate gasp. Danny was losing his truest family.

“What is it Isaac?” Lydia asked softly. 

“I know why he’s hurting so badly,” Isaac said, not supplying more. He then chose his next plan of action. He decided to speak to Derek. Derek was his Alpha. Derek was someone he greatly respected despite his ill choices. 

“It’s not a good idea,” Derek said firmly. He glared at Isaac with his best Alpha look, but Isaac didn’t back down. There had to be something the pack could do for Danny.

“Danny’s losing everything,” Isaac told Derek. “His only real family is dying and his best friend is dead.” It was sort of their fault and the fault of the supernatural that Jackson was “dead.” 

Derek did look a little more sympathetic at that. He knew what it was like to lose absolutely everything. Isaac had always sympathized with Derek for the same reason. "It's a lot of risk," he said softly. "Also, the gain isn't much compared to the risk. Jackson made clear that his life in Beacon Hills is over. He refuses to be a part of this."

"It may at least comfort him to know Jackson isn't dead..." Isaac said wearily. He didn't know what to do, but had hoped Derek would. "He's gonna be alone, like I was. Isn't that why you said you brought us into the pack in the first place? We were alone. We needed pack. So does Danny."

"I brought you in because you were vulnerable," Derek said, eyes full of untold shame. He looked like it was some sort of dirty secret. Isaac had known it since the beginning. Derek's motives weren't all good ones, but he was a good man over all. "But yes, also that..."

"Derek."

Derek looked up at him and Isaac saw pain. Isaac knew where that pain came from. He always sympathized with Derek. He knew the pain and loneliness that Derek felt he was doomed to. He felt he was doomed to it too. Derek nodded slowly. Isaac knew that was his Alpha's consent.


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac went to Danny alone. He confronted the goalie after school. Danny was all alone. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He turned and looked to Isaac and his eyes were empty. There was nothing in them at all. “What do you want?” he snapped.

“I want to talk,” Isaac said. “We must find a private place, though.”

“That was dramatic,” Danny said sourly. He started walking but nodded his head. Taking that as permission, Isaac followed him. He looked at Danny the moment they stopped in a secluded area behind the school. In any other situation, Isaac thought morbidly, this situation would be dangerous. “Now what?” he asked.

“I got a few things to say,” Isaac told him, taking a breath. None of this was going to be easy. 

“That’s kind of obvious considering you’re talking to me.” 

Isaac shot him a look. This wasn’t easy. “The first thing I want to say to you, Danny, is that Jackson isn’t dead.” 

Danny’s head whipped up and his eyes darkened. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked. “What kind of sick joke…”

“He’s not,” Isaac said simply. “He’s gone, but he’s alive. He’s a werewolf and he’s gone elsewhere.” Okay, maybe he was laying it on a bit strong, but he was a blunt person. Being a werewolf had taken whatever sensitivities he had and had destroyed them altogether. 

Danny turned on him. Isaac could hear his heart beating faster and could smell his fury. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked again, this time much slower. “I know you went nuts last year Lahey, but there is absolutely no excuse for this.”

Isaac shook his head. He knew that this was going to be hard to lay on someone. He’d always imagined what would happen when he finally told a normal person about werewolves. Now was his moment to find out how that worked. He bared his teeth, letting them elongate. He controlled himself enough to only turn partially. Giving Danny a heart attack was not a part of the plan. He turned back.

Danny’s eyes widened. In shock, he took a step back. “What are you?” he asked. 

Isaac sighed. “I’m a werewolf,” he said. “I’ve been one for a while now.”

Danny seemed to process what he’d seen in small bits and pieces. He was quiet for a long time. It was the longest that Isaac saw a person just sit, quietly. Danny sank down against the wall and actually sat for a few minutes, letting it all sink in. “J-Jackson is one too?” he said. He processed spectacularly fast. 

Isaac nodded.

“Then why did he leave?” Danny asked brokenly, looking up at Isaac as if Isaac held all the answers to the universe. Isaac had to laugh at that. He was so far from wise. Danny, however, looked so pathetically broken when he choked out those words that Isaac sank down onto the concrete and sat next to him. It was the least he could do.

“He was really unhappy before he became like me…”Isaac said, saving the whole kanima story for another day. There was just too much for one human being to process. “I can’t really speculate on why, though.”

“He always was so miserable,” Danny murmured. He looked up, pained. Isaac saw a kindred spirit in him, he supposed. Danny was in a lot of pain. The mild-mannered, sweet goalie that everyone loved was in a lot of pain.

“He hurt so much and hurt so many,” Isaac agreed, feeling that was all he could say. “I think he used his death as a chance to slip away and find himself. He never wanted to leave you Danny. It just made it easier.” He supposed that he was going to speculate. Never mind about that whole “not his place” thing. 

Danny started crying at that. He was very subtle about it, but Isaac heard it. “I understand it,” he said, surprising Isaac yet again. Danny broke him out of his thoughts with a surprising question: “Why did you tell me this?”

Isaac paused. He didn’t know what to say. Anything he said was going to come off as creepy, too forward. “You’re alone,” he said. “You’re…going to be very alone, just like I am.”

“What?” Danny looked up at him.

“I know your grandmother is dying,” Isaac admitted. He figured he’d just own up to all of the weirdness. He had already thrown Danny into a pit of it. He was wondering if Danny would be cursing his name later. 

Danny’s eyes went wide. “How did you…”

“Can we just attribute it to werewolf senses for right now?” Isaac asked. 

Danny surprisingly nodded. Isaac watched as his expression then broke hard. He looked like he just collapsed into himself, drawing his knees up to his chest. He looked around like he was kind of trapped. “She’s all I have left,” he whispered. Isaac felt bad that he’d made Danny so vulnerable that he was sharing this with a near stranger. “I don’t have anything or anyone else in the world. Jackson, Gran, that’s it, I swear it.” 

Isaac hardly knew what he was doing, but he pulled Danny into a hug. He wrapped both arms around the boy and held him. He realized that he had learned a lot from the pack. He would have never given physical affection before. He did this because that’s what Scott, Stiles or even Erica would do if he was hurting. It’s what many of them had done when he hit a low. He held Danny while he broke down, struggling to hold in the tears. He felt so much coming off of him. Pain, fear, anguish… “I don’t want to be alone,” Danny whispered, so low a human wouldn’t have heard it.

“You won’t be,” Isaac said. “Come with me.”

Isaac took him to the den that day. He did it because it was the right thing to do. His plans had already been revealed to the pack, obviously, because nobody was surprised. “Hey man,” Scott said, waving lightly to Danny as he entered. 

“We adopted a hot gay!” Erica called from the other room. “Yay,” she added a little sarcastically.

Danny looked like he was going to pass out.


	3. Chapter 3

“I don’t really get any of this,” Danny admitted. “Werewolves. It makes no sense to me. I mean I knew for the past year or so that there have been weird things around me. At the club…”

“Your best friend wasn’t a werewolf then,” Isaac quipped, unable to help himself.

“No, he was a wacky lizard man then,” Stiles supplied dryly.

Danny looked like he could not take that in. He shook his head from side to side. “Are-are you all werewolves?”

“Not I,” said Stiles. “I am but a lowly human sidekick.”

“It’s a long story,” Isaac said. “I’ll do what I can to fill you in, okay?”

Danny looked and nodded.

After a short while, Isaac took Danny aside. While they relaxed, watched TV and calmed down, the lacrosse goalie fell asleep. He was really deeply asleep in minutes. Isaac could tell by his breathing patterns. His chest heaved deeply and he was far gone. Isaac wondered if he’d slept well, or even slept at all, in some time. All he was going through, he probably wasn’t. 

Isaac watched Danny sleep. He was very adorable, turned onto his side while he slept. He seemed at peace, but that was only on the surface. 

When Danny woke up, he stretched and yawned. He stretched his arms and back and then opened his eyes. His eyes met Isaac’s. They stared at each other for a moment that seemed to drag out. “How long did I sleep?” he asked.

“Awhile,” Isaac said. “You seemed to really need it though. You haven’t slept.” He stated it as a pure fact, because he had a strange feeling that Danny would deny it if he phrased it as a question. 

“I haven’t,” Danny responded.

“I get that.” Isaac met Danny’s eyes. He smiled a little. “I’m gonna guess that you want to talk now.” He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to explain everything to the boy, but he was going to try his very best.

“I do,” Danny said. 

“Where do we start?” Isaac asked. 

“Werewolf 101,” Danny responded. “Who are you guys, what and how this is real.” 

Isaac almost joked that this was far from the 101 version. He instead just started. “Well, I’ll start with Derek,” he said, deciding that Derek sort of was the beginning. “He is a naturally born werewolf. His whole family was killed years ago. This, this woman, she set them on fire. It was her way of hunting them down and killing them all.”

Danny nodded. The story of Kate Argent had broken out and everyone had some idea about it. “That’s not hunting,” Danny muttered, “it’s a total slaughter.” 

Isaac looked to Danny appreciatively. There was something about Danny that was so smart, so wise to the whole world. “They weren’t even all werewolves,” he said softly. “Kids, innocents…Derek and his sister Laura only survived because they were at school at the time of the fire. Last year Laura was killed and Derek came back to town.”

“Who killed her?” Danny asked.

“An alpha werewolf, who we later found out was Derek’s uncle,” Isaac explained. “He had been vegetative for years. He was the one who killed Laura and he also turned Scott.”

Danny gasped, a barely audible sound. “Oh.” 

“Yeah,” Isaac said awkwardly. “So eventually Derek caught and killed him, for the first time. That was how he became Alpha of the pack.”

“Mhm, okay,” Danny said. He wasn’t exactly skeptical. He was just exhausted by the information. He looked absolutely, positively drained. His eyes were weak and tired looking. He had changed a lot in his grief and sadness. 

“Yeah,” Isaac said. “Derek brought in Boyd, Erica and I. He turned us to make a pack.”

“Why?” Danny asked. He had a look of confusion in his eyes. 

“Why’d Derek bring us in?” Isaac asked.

“No,” Danny mumbled. “Why would you want that?”

It was an odd question to Isaac. He had never wanted anything more than he wanted that. When Derek had offered him power and an end to a constant cycle of being afraid, he had just taken it. It was the only option. “Well,” he murmured awkwardly, “it was the only option for me. You try being a constant victim. The idea of someone offering you physical and mental power, as well as a family, is really, really nice.” 

They shared a long look. Danny looked at him with a sort of odd understanding, but at the same time the confusion was still there. 

“Sorry,” Danny muttered. “I can’t presume or imagine what it’s like…”

They were silent for a while and Danny felt obligated to speak before Isaac did. Isaac just couldn’t. His choice to become a werewolf was very confusing and very conflicting.

“What about Jackson?” Danny asked.

“Derek bit him,” Isaac explained. “I don’t know what happened, but when Derek bit him something went wrong. He didn’t turn into a werewolf. All of the shit in his head turned around and mutated him.” 

“Mutated?” Danny asked. 

“He became this…this lizard creature,” Isaac said. “The kanima. It was controlled by someone who, who um made him kill.”

“What?” Danny asked. He had obviously stopped processing what he was hearing because he was acting such blunt, factual questions. “Who was controlling him?” 

Isaac wasn’t sure if he should say. “Matt Dahler.” 

Danny looked simultaneously amazed and horrified. He was information overloaded, evidently, because those emotions manifested in an awkward smile. “He was evil?” he asked, trying to sound strong and steady but failing. Isaac was realizing that overloading Danny with Werewolf 101 was a very, very poor idea. 

“I-I really don’t know,” Isaac muttered. “He’d been hurt really, really bad.”

“Okay…”

Danny was definitely shell shocked and Isaac was kicking himself. He couldn’t help speculate that he’d overloaded Danny to the point that he didn’t catch anything fully. “I’m sorry for laying this all on you,” he said. 

“It’s okay…” Danny said dryly. He seemed very, very confused. 

Isaac looked at Danny and frowned. “I wish I could help you,” he said. 

Danny seemed to escape the veil he was under in that moment. He looked at Isaac and broke into a small smile. It was very light. “There’s little you can do but thank you.”

Isaac knew Danny was right. It was depressing. He must have gained a sort of resilience from Scott because he wanted to keep trying, despite this. He would keep trying, for Danny.


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the fact that Isaac couldn’t do much to make things better, things seemed to get better for Danny. He was quickly becoming part of the pack. He helped Derek with research and Isaac could even see the spark of appreciation in Derek’s eyes. Danny never questioned Derek’s authority and was very loyal. He really believed that Derek needed it. Isaac also saw him smile when he talked to Stiles or Scott, or even Erica. Danny was someone who belonged.

For a few weeks he looked a lot better. He looked healthier. He focused his energy in the pack and Isaac honestly believed it gave him something to live for. Then he vanished. He stopped showing up at pack meetings and Isaac could not get ahold of him.

He called the hospital and found out that Lila Mahealani passed away. It was what he’d expected.

He found Danny on the Beacon Hills High practice field, alone. He was standing, but Isaac could tell that he was barely supporting himself. He could hear the rapid breathing. He looked ready to fall over at any given second. He approached immediately.

Danny heard him. This was pretty amazing to Isaac, who had come to the conclusion that regular humans were weak and noticed nothing. “I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he said honestly, turning and looking to Isaac. His face was pale and red streaked. “My nan passed away and I just needed to spend some time alone. That’s okay, right? I mean, I didn’t worry anyone or make any issues…did I?”

“No,” Isaac lied. He had just freaked out one nervous, probably overbearing werewolf who was growing more and more attached to Danny by the day. It wasn’t like Isaac could exactly help himself when it seemed like the newest member of the Beacon Hills pack was always on his mind. He wasn’t trying for that, because it was creepy.

“I knew she was dying,” Danny muttered, taking a seat on the grass. Isaac couldn’t help listen to the steady but furious beat of his heart. “I don’t know why I feel like I just got hit in the face with a ton of bricks. My grandmother was dying. We’d already spoken about all the details and said our goodbyes and stuff, to a degree.” 

“Death blindsides you even if you see it coming from a mile away,” Isaac suggested.

“Guess so,” Danny muttered. “I just can’t really explain how influential she was on my life, dude. My parents didn’t understand the whole gay thing, at all. They didn’t get how their kid could be gay when he didn’t do ‘gay things.’ She told them to shove it and accept it or she’d make them.” He smiled at the memory. “She was very sassy and independent. She told them that they’d have to accept me or they’d deal with her.” 

“That’s sweet…”

Isaac knew he was pretty inefficient at comforting someone from emotional trauma. He just didn’t have the capacity to deal with it and it sucked. He could spend hours sitting with a dying dog at the vet, use his abilities to ease its pain and just talk to it. He couldn’t do the same thing with a human. The thing about humans was that they talked back. 

“Anyway,” Danny mumbled softly, “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Has Derek figured anything out about that Alpha Pack?” 

“Not really,” Isaac said solemnly. “He and Peter are trying to come up with a motive. They’re not really doing anything to us but the threat is clear. He says that we have to be completely on guard.” 

“What am I supposed to do?” Danny asked. He spoke desperately, his words strained at best. Isaac knew that the other teen was not talking about the sudden rash of unexplainable phenomenon and death either. It was hard to see someone like Danny, who was so strong, look so incredibly weak. He was also asking Isaac for help.

Isaac knew that he was the wrong person to ask for that kind of assistance. His whole life was a social mess. He did not know how to comfort someone and he certainly did not know how to handle very human grief. 

Danny looked at him for a long moment. Isaac could not begin to comprehend what was going on in his mind. It seemed that he was looking to Isaac with awe. Was it admiration? If it was, why would he be? There was not much to admire Isaac for. Nothing about Isaac was-

His self-doubt was interrupted when Danny took a swift step forward and kissed him. It was a soft, gentle and very light kiss, but at the same time there was a lot of force behind it. Danny leaned his whole strong body into the little kiss and Isaac felt like he’d been lit on fire. 

“Why’d you do that?” he asked, confused. 

“Sorry,” Danny whispered, a redness crossing his face. “I don’t go for guys unless I know they like guys and that was out of line in so many ways. I just got so…”

His heart was racing so fast that Isaac could hear the booming echo. He tried his best to comfort Danny. “It’s okay Danny,” he said quickly, waving a hand. “I don’t mind at all. I don’t know what to call it but that was a nice kiss, dude.” He laughed at how casual he was sounding. “A very nice kiss.” He just didn’t know why Danny would kiss him, short of depression and desperation. He was not the kind of guy that Danny would want. Maybe his fake bravado and confidence had tricked Danny. He didn’t want that. 

When Danny looked at him, it was like the other teen could see the self-doubt in his eyes. It was very frustrating. Maybe werewolves weren’t the only supernatural beings in Beacon Hills. “Stop that,” Danny said, firmly.

“What?” 

“Wondering why I’d kiss you,” Danny said cheekily. It was a strange change of mood and Isaac wondered if his grief was driving him insane. “You’ve been helping me through all this and if that doesn’t cause a crush, I dunno what does.” 

“Um, okay.” 

Danny kissed him one more time, experimentally. It seemed like Danny was trying to test the waters as well. His kiss was soft, yet firm. His fingers found Isaac’s hair this time, tangling up in his curls. Isaac slipped into it, so pleased by the kissing. He hoped he wasn’t taking advantage of Danny’s emotions. It was good. He wasn’t sure if that made him gay or something, but that was okay. 

It was getting heated, dangerously heated when Isaac’s cell phone rang. Isaac had recently set ringtones for everyone’s cell phone, so that he would immediately know who was calling. “Derek,” he said as he picked it up. “Derek, what’s going on?” Derek was not the kind of person to call for a little chat. Isaac knew that something was very wrong.

“I need you here, now.”

That was all Derek gave before he hung up. Isaac looked at Danny apologetically but all Danny said was, “Let’s go.”


	5. Chapter 5

Danny sighed and looked at Isaac’s phone. Isaac looked at it as well and they both shook their heads. “Derek has really bad timing, doesn’t he?” Danny asked, trying to lighten the sudden tension and worry they were both feeling. Isaac could tell it was kind of forced, because of his breathing. Isaac wasn’t sure if he agreed with Danny or was thankful for a momentary relief from the confusing swirl of emotions. He nodded in agreement, however. It seemed, at this time, that Derek had very, very poor timing.

They rushed to the pack headquarters as fast as they possibly could. Danny was really good at keeping up with Isaac, which impressed him. He wasn’t using his full ability as a werewolf, by far, but still he had become very agile in the past year. When they arrived, everyone was there looking horrified.

“What happened?” Isaac asked, looking to Derek. He and Derek had issues, but Isaac still went to Derek’s side as his beta. He had loyalty to the man through thick and thin and that showed.

“Allison Argent was taken by the Alpha Pack,” Peter drawled in Derek’s place. Isaac could not stand the formerly dead werewolf. He creeped him out and gave him majorly bad vibes. “They’re trying to get to Scott, of course.”

“Where is Scott?” Danny asked.

Everyone in the room gave him a look. That was when Isaac noticed that Stiles was gone as well. “He has, of course, fallen into their trap,” Peter explained. “Boyd and Erica tried to stop him, as did my beloved nephew, but there is no stopping young love, sadly.”

“We have to go in,” Derek said, looking pained at that. Isaac knew that even though Scott did not consider Derek to be his alpha, Derek considered himself to be as such. “There’s nothing else we can do. Scott took this huge risk and I think that the Alpha Pack knew he would. They also knew it would lead us right into a confrontation.”

Isaac looked to Danny slowly. “Stay with Lydia,” he said. “Keep her safe. We can’t risk any other humans associated with the pack.”

“No way,” Danny said quickly.

“You’re human,” Isaac said softly, as if that fact wasn’t obvious. “You’re not going to be anything but another liability.”

“I may be a human, but I’m also more capable than your average human,” Danny said with a slight pout. He looked at Isaac with a strength that went far beyond that pout, however. He meant business and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I’ve got a skill set that makes me useful, Isaac. You know that.”

Isaac couldn’t deny that Danny was very intelligent. He had skills…but…

“Why would they even want Alison?” Danny asked.

“You’re kidding, right?” Derek asked, looking to Danny with an irritated expression. “The Alpha Pack is targeting Scott, a very strange case of werewolf. They’re also targeting werewolf hunters by taking the daughter of the Argent family. Her father may have quit, but that family still remains.”

Isaac felt the need to snark right back at Derek. “Stop it,” he said. “We don’t know any of that. We’re just presuming things.”

They followed the clues and the scent to a warehouse that was abandoned just outside of Beacon Hills City limits. “They couldn’t be any more cliché,” Isaac murmured as he looked at the building. He definitely smelled the signs of a struggle. There was something going on here.

The pack was all ready to burst in when Danny spoke quietly. The human caught all of their attentions. “Please tell me you’re not bursting in there,” he said, “because aside from these guys being werewolves, this place is covered with security. You’d be trapped in this yard before you even took another two steps. That entire fence right there is wired.”   
Like Danny said, there was a security system rigged along the fence. Isaac could sense the subtle buzzing too. It was electrified.

“You guys really gotta watch that leap before you act,” he said. “I’ll disable it.”

It was a simple system to disable. He was pretty sure that it was hardly the werewolves’ first line of defense, but at the same time the werewolves had anticipated the idiots who just run into things. Danny disabled it quickly, working nimbly with the wires and the settings. That was a good bonus. He was handy with machinery and he had his computer tech skills. It mixed perfectly sometimes.

Danny could feel Isaac’s eyes on him. Isaac was such a mystery, really.

“Alright,” he muttered as he got it. He nodded to Derek. He wasn’t going to butt in to the big Alpha werewolf’s job.

“Stay back, please,” Isaac told Danny with a desperation that Danny could literally feel. Isaac was a strange guy but he could tell that he meant business. “I can hear something and I’m sure that Derek can hear it more. Derek, what is it?”

“There are three of them in there with her,” Derek said. “Scott and Stiles are at the rear, or at least that’s what I think. There are two human heartbeats, but they haven’t entered the room yet.”

“Danny, back off!” Isaac yelled. “Go around. Get Scott and Stiles before they do something idiotic.”

Danny was a little caught off guard by the rough shove, but he did what he was told. He knew that Scott was an idiot who would do anything for the girl he loved. It was that obvious when you looked at the guy. He had handsome prince written all over his face most of the time. He rushed around the corner and immediately ran into a female. He knew just looking at her face that she wasn’t human. She wasn’t transformed into a werewolf or anything, but there was something utterly powerful about her.

“Another human?” she asked with an exaggerated sigh. “I have no idea why we’re even bothering with any of them. Let me guess, one of them is in love with you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Nobody’s in love with me,” Danny said, unsure why he answered her. It wasn’t the most pressing of issues, considering that his life was now in danger. 

“You’re just another human pet whether you like it or not,” she drawled, baring her teeth at him. He backed off by instinct, looking her over. She was beautiful, powerful and he was in a really, really bad situation. “You know, I watched the number you pulled on the security system. It was pretty impressive. I know we’re looking for that kid, but you’d make a good werewolf. I should bite you and keep you as my pet.” She grinned.

“Sorry lady, you’re not my type,” he quipped, hanging back. Danny knew it was dangerous, but he had to do what he could to protect himself. “If you have any boy wolves tell them to give me a call.” 

“Adorable,” she said, pinning him to the wall. God, the woman was half his size but twice as strong. He hit the wall hard and stared at her. How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? 

Danny struggled against her. It was amazing for someone half his weight to have twice his strength. He pushed her back, and she laughed at his pathetic struggle. He had always aligned wolves as close to dogs but the way she was playing with him reminded Danny of a cat. He twisted his head and she followed suit. He knew that there was absolutely no way to get free of her grip.

Then she loosened up her grip on him. She had obviously heard something he hadn’t. The explosion hit his meager human ears a little bit later than it had hers. It was loud and echoed through the cavernous hold. She looked alert and then let him go completely. He fell, not even realizing how much she was holding him up. “What was that?” he asked aloud to himself as she started running. He was obviously unimportant in comparison.

Danny raced down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him. It felt like he was running through some kind of fog, a blur. Smoke filled his nostrils the second he got into the main room. The explosion had been to the far side of the room. He could see the rubble and it was still smoking. He coughed as he ducked into the room, finding it full of confused werewolves. Standing across from him, near the wreckage was Scott, who grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and tugged her towards him. She backed up against Scott, looking fiercer than anyone.

“We did it!” Stiles yelled from where he stood. 

Derek, Isaac and the others entered from the far left of the room. It was one mass of confusion. Claws were bared, werewolves turned and lunged at one another. Danny knew that as a human he could not stand up against any of them. He went towards his instinct, which was to look for Isaac. He whipped his head around and searched in the mess and chaos for Isaac.  
“Go this way you idiot,” Derek said, grabbing Danny by the side and shoving him. He was partially turned over so the words came out garbled. Danny went that way and then caught a glimpse of Isaac. “Isaac!” he yelled, taking the other boy by the arm and hurrying off with him.

He wasn’t sure how the young male werewolf caught him in the shoulder with a claw. It hurt like hell and made him fall down to the ground. “God,” he gasped.

“Danny,” Isaac said, growling and shoving the werewolf off of him. It was highly ineffective but it did make the male chuckle under his breath – or at least that was what it sounded like.

Danny was blurry as they headed out of the alpha pack’s lair. He was sure it was a combination of smoke, pain and total confusion. He would later realize that he and Isaac were holding hands as they rushed out of the building. He would have called it a cheesy romantic cliché if it weren’t for the fact that his life was in danger.

Everyone got out of there in mostly one piece. Scott saved the girl, Allison was pissed at being saved and Derek was pissed at Scott. There was a lot of anger when they regrouped in the forest. Danny, on the other hand, nearly fell over. “Let me see that,” Isaac said with an intensity that sounded absurd on him. 

Danny stripped off his shirt and grinned. It was weird. He felt oddly exhilarated by all of this. He had been threatened by a werewolf and then gored by one, but all he could think about was how alive he felt. He gave Isaac a small smile, which was met by a scowl. “Derek, is he okay?” Isaac asked.

The werewolf sighed and then looked at Danny’s back. “It’s not that deep,” he said gruffly. “It’ll be pretty sore, but it’s not going to have any adverse effect. The one who did it probably didn’t even know that he was doing it.” 

“You mean I don’t get radioactive werewolf powers?” Danny asked. 

“Shut up and let’s go get this bandaged,” Isaac said.

Danny followed and smiled a little bit at Isaac. “You were really worried, weren’t you?”

“Of course I was,” Isaac snipped. 

As the group went back to Derek’s little werewolf lair, Danny couldn’t help think about how dysfunctional they were. A group of teenagers and barely reasonable adults, some werewolves, trying to fight against so many different threats. It was just absurd but he was glad to be a part of it. Woozy from pain he listened to Erica and Boyd bicker, Allison and Scott bicker, Derek and Peter bicker…  
Wow, they were really going to have to work on that.


	7. Chapter 7

When they arrived at the pack headquarters, it was Erica who gave Danny a once over. The tiny blonde looked him up and down and then gestured to Isaac. “Isaac, there’s a first aid kit in the kitchen,” she said. “Stiles put it there because, y’know, we’re not all werewolves here. Go patch up your human. He’s bleeding.”  
Isaac rolled his eyes at Erica and nodded. “She’s right Danny,” he said, taking Danny by the arm. “Let’s head over to the kitchen and I can bandage that up.”  
Danny stopped for just a moment. “I am not his human,” he said. He didn’t actually take offense at being called Isaac’s human, but at the same time it reflected what the female alpha had said about him. He didn’t want to be anyone’s anything. He liked Isaac and he was pretty sure Isaac liked him, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be the dude’s pet.  
“Whatever you wanna call it,” Erica said with a sassy grin. “You’re still it. He gives you gaga eyes, therefore, you’re his human.”  
“Stop arguing,” Isaac said rolling his eyes and dragging Danny off to the kitchen.  
As Isaac patched him up, Danny could see the concern in his eyes. He worked fast. “I got used to using first aid, a lot, when I was younger,” Isaac said, his voice suddenly took on a sheepish tone. Danny felt such sympathy for him. He was an amazing person. He had survived so much. He continued to clean Danny up, deep concern in his eyes. He looked like he was really worried. “Isaac, are you okay?” Danny asked.  
“Yeah.”  
“I’m fine, you know,” Danny said, wondering if that was what it was about.  
“I know,” Isaac said with a slight chuckle. “Give me a break man. Usually when someone I care about gets hurt, I have the added bonus of getting to beat up whoever hurt them. I don’t have a lot of people I care about and look, nobody to beat up.”  
Isaac was a little bit strained and choked up. This made Danny think about his pain. He had been through so much, really. “It’s okay,” Danny told Isaac. “I don’t have the easiest time trusting people, so I get the whole ‘keep your few close friends closest’ thing.” That was how he had always been with Jackson too. His best friend had been an asshole, but Jackson was all his.  
“I’m definitely not used to caring,” Isaac said wistfully, looking away. “Trusting gets you hurt, y’know?”  
“I’ll try not to let you get hurt,” Danny said. “I try my best not to be the guy doing the hurting, at least. I also kick the ass of the ones doing the hurting, if I’m able.” He gave a small smile and Isaac couldn’t help smile back. They were drawn to each other, as if by some sort of magnetic field.  
Danny initiated another kiss, a light one that made him smile. Isaac kissed back with such intensity that it nearly rocked him back. Isaac was definitely a lot more powerful on the inside than he looked on the outside. He looked fragile, but he had been through so much and was hardly a delicate flower.  
“Danny,” Isaac said against his lips, “I have a question. I don’t know if I should ask though… ” His hesitance was really adorable, as far as Danny was concerned. He looked to Isaac and smiled at the awkwardness. Isaac showed a lot of smooth confidence at school, but Danny was starting to see what that was really rooted in. It was a way to defend himself from the world.  
“Ask away, Isaac.”  
“Why didn’t you ask me about getting you turned into a werewolf?” he asked. “Or we talked about Erica being cured of epilepsy. Why didn’t you ever ask about maybe using werewolf things to get your grandmother’s illness cured?”  
Danny swallowed. That was a deep one. “I don’t have anything against you, Isaac,” he said. “I understand completely why you became a werewolf but it’s not for me. I mean, I would do it to save my life, of course, but all the added power has an added strain that I don’t think I could ever handle. I’m not immortal. I mean, you’re not either, but you know what I mean…I’m a human guy. I pride myself in strength, both mental and physical, that doesn’t need the werewolf’s enhancements.” 

“That’s good…” Isaac whispered.  
“And as for my nan,” he said, “well, for one, there’s no way a seventy year old werewolf is a good thing. Also, she was a lot more spiritual than that. She believed that everyone had a time to go. She believed that she lived her life to the fullest and it was her time to go. I could argue that, of course, but it would have been disrespectful to thrust any mess on her and this…this is a huge mess.”  
“I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” Danny asked, with a surprised smile.  
“Thrusting a mess on you.”  
“You did no such thing,” Danny assured. “I’m really glad that I got to become a part of this mess. It saved my life. I was really losing my grip on everything and you came along and gave it back to me.” He leaned forward and kissed Isaac. “I get to go back to being the sarcastic asshole that Beacon Hills loves. I didn’t know if I’d ever get myself back.”  
Isaac smiled at that. “I think that Beacon Hills needs you back,” he agreed. “Coach hasn’t been the same, you know?”  
“I know,” Danny said with a laugh. “He shook me once or twice and told me to please say something, anything or he’d pair me up with Greenberg for drills for all eternity.”  
Isaac smiled at that, a little more at ease. He leaned forward and kissed Danny. It was cool seeing Isaac initiate things, because Danny had been worried that Isaac didn’t want it as badly as he did. “I’m just worried about you getting hurt,” Isaac admitted while they kissed experimentally. Neither pushed too far, because it was most definitely just the beginning for them.  
“Don’t,” Danny said. “We live dangerous lives, but they’re worth living.”  
“And we’re in it together?”  
Danny crossed his arms. “Obviously.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Boyd and I listened to your make out session with Danny last night,” Erica said gleefully, as Isaac walked into the kitchen. The house was still a mess, but was proving to be a good enough headquarters for the pack. Isaac looked over at Erica and rolled his eyes at her. He was still grouchy in the morning, even after being turned into a werewolf. He didn’t like to wake up after a particularly pleasant night sleep.

“That was private,” he grumbled.

“Werewolves,” she reminded him. “Nothing is private when you live in a household of werewolves. Anyway, shut up. I think it’s very cute and romantic.” Erica was being oddly sweet to him. Although she had such a sharp tongue and attitude, he had a feeling she was very romantic underneath it all.

“Well, Danny’s special,” Isaac said, trying to control his rapidly beating heart. Being in a household full of werewolves was unusually stressful, because there was nothing that he could hide. 

“You’re special too,” Erica said immediately.

“I’m afraid that Danny’s going to get himself hurt, being connected to me, to us,” Isaac admitted shyly. He knew that Danny was probably stronger than he was and Danny was just a human, but at the same time that fear wasn’t going away. There was no way that he could rationalize it, or make it more logical. There was no way that he could make himself stop fearing for Danny.

“Danny’s free to leave us any time he wants, really,” Erica said. “This isn’t hanging over his head.” 

“You have a point…” he said. It was hard to deny Erica Reyes anything that she wanted, including the right to be right.

“When you first started talking to him, he was utterly broken,” Erica reminded him softly. “He was dealing with having lost absolutely everything. He couldn’t take it anymore. He was giving up. I think that everyone at the entire school could see him falling apart, even those who didn’t know him. When you came around, you might have pulled him into this mess of ours, Isaac, but at the same time I’m pretty convinced you saved his life.” 

Isaac smiled at that. Erica was one of the smartest people that he knew. “Thank you, Erica.” 

*  
Danny was sitting alone in the “pack den” when he was approached by Stiles. Stiles and Danny had a very strange relationship. Stiles was sarcastic and sharp and so was Danny. They were very alike and they seemed to make every effort to antagonize one another. At the same time they got along. They were friends, despite a rocky start to that friendship. 

“So,” Stiles said, plopping down on the sofa next to Danny. Danny fought the urge to playfully roll his eyes, “I have to ask. Are you and Isaac dating yet? You should be dating. I just don’t want to be presumptuous.” 

“Really?” Danny asked, exasperated. “Because that’s your business.”

“Oh come on, Danny,” he said. “You are now part of a pack of werewolves. They already know, I think, but I’m slightly disadvantaged here. I just figured that it would better our bond if I knew.” 

Danny rolled his eyes at the pressure. “Yes, we are,” he said, shaking his head at the fact that he caved. “Isaac is a very special person and I really care about him. I hope it will work out well.” 

Stiles smiled, victorious. “Good!”

“Yeah it kind of is…”

“Isaac’s been through a lot of crap,” Stiles said, surprisingly calm and mature for Stiles. “He deserves some happiness. This is really good for him, and for you and…good all around.” 

“He does deserve to be happy,” Danny said. Nothing bothered him more than Isaac’s pain, which was very deep rooted. If he could relieve it in any way then this was going to make things better. 

“So do you, Danny boy.”

Danny couldn’t help nod at that. Since Jackson’s leaving and his nan’s passing, things were very hard on him. He couldn’t handle the strain and pressure and for a while there had really been slipping away. He wasn’t sure if he’d still be in one piece if not for Isaac and Isaac coming into his life. He was pretty sure that the werewolf he was falling for was now saving his life.

“He came to my rescue,” Danny admitted.

“It’s mutual, I think.”

Danny left Stiles feeling pretty good about everything. He and Isaac meeting was some kind of fate, if he believed in that sort of thing. They were going to take care of each other, no matter what it came to. He decided then that he really needed to go find Isaac. He got up and searched for the other boy. He quickly found him in the back bedroom of the big house. Isaac was sitting on the bed and immediately smiled when he saw Danny. That smile was infectious. 

“How are you feeling?” Isaac asked, his eyes immediately alight with concern. 

Danny lifted his shirt to show Isaac the injuries. “I’m very good, thanks,” he teased. “No, seriously, I’m doing a lot better.” He was healing pretty quickly, thankfully. It wasn’t a problem. He smiled as Isaac looked at him. He knew that Isaac was assessing him for injuries, but the werewolf would never be able to deny that he was checking him out. Danny flushed a little, totally flattered by it. It wasn’t the first time someone had checked him out like that, but it was totally flattering all the same.

“So, now that I’m healthy enough for you to totally check out,” he quipped. “Want to go on a date with me?”

“Of course,” Isaac said immediately. “I was meaning to ask you. I…you know that you got yourself into a big mess by dating me, right? You do know that. I mean, you are the smartest guy…”

Danny couldn’t help smile at that. “Yeah, huge mess,” he said with a shake of his head. Isaac couldn’t tell why he was smiling and he liked that. He’d keep a little mystery about the whole thing. He was just happy. The mess that he was in saved his life. “Thanks Isaac.” 

“For what?”

Danny just shrugged. “Things…”  
He was okay now.


End file.
